Home Sweet Home
by missdarcy7
Summary: DELENA. AU/AH, Elena returns home to Mystic Falls as her mother is in need desperate need of her care. Damon has come to a realization that it is about time for him to change his old antics and to find a girl to settle down with. Damon sees Elena at her welcome home party and immediately is attracted to her. Will Elena feel the same for Damon?
1. Welcome Home Elena

Background: Elena has left Mystic Falls, VA, to North Carolina for college and has only recently returned home in the wake of her mother's deteriorating health due to stage 4 lung cancer. When Elena left Mystic Falls, she left behind her memories, friends and most importantly her longtime boyfriend Stefan Salvatore. They both decided that they were better off as friends than as lovers, and parted two separate ways: Stefan with his dreams of becoming a doctor after studying at University of Virginia and Elena as a writer after her degree in English from Duke University. It has been 7 years since Elena's return back to Mystic Falls, Caroline is now a event planner and coordinates all of the town's events, Bonnie works at a local non- profit organization and absolutely loves it and Jeremy is at his third year at the local Whitmore College. Now that Elena is back home, she hopes to continue writing while taking care of her mother who is in need of her daughter's loving care. Of course we can't forget the notorious Damon Salvatore who is 5 years senior of Elena and Stefan, currently running the Salvatores' family business in real estate around the DMV area.

 _I just landed. See you soon x Elena_

 _Can't wait hurry!_

"Caroline?" I stood in the midst of the crowd, staring right into the eyes of a complete stranger. Caroline has changed so much, her hair is now shorter and blonder and she has this glow on her face that is infectious. I walked towards her, pulling my two suitcases, and before I get to thank her for coming to pick me up, Caroline leaps forwards and gives me the biggest hug on Earth. "Oh god, how I've missed you, we have so much to catch up on." "Carol, I love your hair, and I have never seen you this happy before, tell me do you have a man in your life?" "Oh I need to tell you I'm dating Stefan now. We have been dating for 2 years now." "Oh." I was quite taken aback, I had not known that they were dating at all, I never thought that Stefan was Caroline's type, but I guess I was wrong. It's whatever, it's not like I'm still int Stefan or something. I'm over him. I mean I did date two different guys while I was at Duke and I'm sure he did the same at UVA. But still, out of all people in Mystic Falls and Virginia for christ sake, Caroline of course is dating my ex. Great. "I mean you are okay with it right, it's been 7 years since you left." "Yea of course, I'm happy for you Carol." I truly was happy for her, I have never seen Caroline this happy since I have known her. Caroline deserves someone who makes her happy, especially after everything she has been through with Tyler's abusive relationship in high school, the divorce of her parents, man that girl has been through a lot. "Ready to see our apartment." "Of course, I mean I'm paying $2000 a month so I want to know how it looks like." Caroline, Bonnie and I are sharing a apartment in a newly built condo in downtown Mystic Falls.

"So how was North Carolina, did you even like it there? I mean you probably did, you spent the best 7 years of your life there."

"I mean I guess I do miss it now that I'm gone, but you know I had to come back for my mum, she really needs me and also I didn't really see myself in Durham for any longer. 7 years was definitely enough. 3 months ago, I received a phone call from my father, informing me that my mother's cancer is back and this time it is stronger than ever. The doctors at Mystic Falls say that my mother has 6 more months to live and that there is no possible operation for her as her tumors have already spread all over her lungs also known as seeding. My father, being the persistent and optimistic person he is, decided to consult a different, and supposedly better source at Johns Hopkins University Hospital and apparently their technology in chemotherapy can suppress the cells from growing rapidly. Because of my mother's relocation to Maryland and the more expensive medical bills, my father has been much busier work wise and no one is available to take care of my mother. I was already going to planning on leaving Durham for that summer but after hearing about my mother's critical life condition, I knew that it was time for me to go back home and spend some time with my family. "I'm so sorry about your mother, if you need any help in taking care of your mother, just let me know and I will be there in a heartbeat. Mama Gilbert has always been so nice to me and this is the least that I can do." "Thanks Carol, that means a lot to me. I'm sure my mother would really appreciate it." "We are almost there. Oh I forgot to tell you, so Bonnie and I, well mostly me, we are throwing you a welcome home party and all of our friends are invited so you can catch up with everyone." "Aww, Carol, you guys didn't have to do that, thanks!" "Of course! By the way, I wanna introduce you to my friend later tonight. I think he is your type. His name is Jake and he is a personal trainer at the local fitness studio downtown and he is super hot super cute." "Oh god Carol, I don't think I am in the right state of mind right now. My main priority is to take care of my mother and I have deadlines for my writing project." "Just promise me you will at least go on a date with him." "Ugh, just for you. One date and that's it."

"Bonnie! God I missed you so much."

"Elena, you are even prettier than before. I'm so sorry about your mum, how are you?"

"I'm good, just taking everything day by day. How's work?"

"Fun, I love it, I mean I am so thankful that I found my true passion. Working with animals just gives me life and fulfillment."

"That's great Bonnie."

"Guys we can catch up later. Right now, we need to start getting ready for the party tonight, Elena I want you to look cute for Jake and Bonnie can you do my hair please."

"Yea of course."

"Carol, what should I wear then?"

"Do you have anything revealing? Like any body cons or a v-cut jumpsuit or romper, something casual but chic."

"No, I shop at Banana Republic and Gap. I am a writer, I don't own anything casual but chic."

"Oh God, come to my room, and let us figure something out for you." Of course half of Caroline's room was filled with her clothes and shoes. That girl has more clothes than the entire Kardashian/ Jenner clan.

"Okay, so are you feeling this red casual body con or this white petite romper? They both will look killer on you."

"Let's go with the white petite romper, I feel like the body con is much more appropriate for going out. Also I need help with make up, I don't really know how much to put on."

"Elena, did you live in a cave in North Carolina?"

"Jeez Carol, no, I just never really cared about how I looked, I mean what you see is what you get over here."

"Well, then again, you look gorgeous without makeup so what am I even saying."

An hour later, the three of us were still getting ready; Caroline was doing my makeup, while Bonnie was doing Caroline's hair and my job was to fill them in on my life back in Durham. "So when I was at Duke, I dated a guy for a year and a half who was two years older my freshman year. He was the 'athletic stud' he was the lacrosse captain his senior year and I mean he was decent looking. I really thought that this was my fairytale, until I caught him with one of my sorority sister, and that was the end of that. After Duke, I dated a guy who was a private investor, he was a really nice guy but I just didn't feel the spark with him, there wasn't feel a passionate kind of burning love, he was just good company and a good friend. We are still friends now. And between that and now, I have been on a couple of dates, hooked up with a couple of guys and that's it. My life has been pretty boring."

"Your life will be exciting once you and Jake hit it off."

"I don't really like Jake, I think he is too superficial."

"Why do you say that Bonnie?"

"Hey, give Jake a chance, at least he's cute."

"I was at the fitness studio and I overheard him talking with one of the front desk lady and he was talking about how he only teaches people who have a certain wealth and status in Mystic Falls. I was just a little bit iffy about that. But that's my opinion of him, just a heads up Elena, I mean I'm sure he is a nice guy, but just be careful."

"I know, I must say I think I am good at reading people. I think I hear the door bell, someone is at the door."

"I'll go get it."

"Hi Jenna, I'm so glad you made it, it's so nice to see you."

"Hi Bonnie, how are you? Now where is my niece?"

"Aunt Jenna, oh my god, how are you?"

"Good, not too bad, Alaric should be coming soon, I came here early because I came straight from work. How does it feel to be back home?"

"Great. I mean, I have only been here for 5 hours but so far so good. I am planning on visiting my mother tomorrow afternoon, what to come with me?"

"Of course! I visited Miranda two days ago with Alaric and I think there has been improvement, she is a very optimistic person. The entire time she was talking about how she plans on coming to our wedding in Turks and Caicos."

"Oh my god, I almost forgot to congratulate you. I am so happy for you."

"Thanks Elena, also would you like to be my maid of honor. I was going to ask your mother but I think with everything she is going through, she wouldn't mind if her daughter stole her thunder."

"I would be honored Mrs. Saltzman to be. I can't wait. Oh, looks like there is more people coming in, I better go over and say hi to everyone."

After half an hour of going around and saying hi to everyone I haven't seen in so long, I finally got the opportunity to sit down and have a drink. Caroline introduced me to Jake once he arrived and to be quite honest I see what Bonnie was saying, he seems like a fake person; but I did promise Caroline that I would go on a date with him. Jake and I made small talk for 5 minutes and I quickly found him to be quite boring, or maybe we were just on two different pages. He liked to talk about health, fitness and sports, whereas I would much rather talk about literature, books and traveling. Before I excused myself, Jake suggested that I should come to his workout session sometime and I was hoping that Caroline would consider that as our date. As a was sitting alone at our bar in the kitchen, I glanced around the apartment and saw everyone I knew from my childhood and high school mingling and having fun.

"Elena Gilbert, even prettier than I remembered."

"Damon Salvatore? Haven't changed a bit since I last saw you." Oh god, he caught me in the middle of my daydream. Damn, Damon is hot.

"I hope that it's a good thing that I haven't changed a bit. Why are you sitting here all alone when this party is supposed to be all about you."

"After an hour of socializing with people I haven't seen in ages, I needed a few minutes alone." I have never been this up close to Damon and wow his eyes are the bluest eyes I have ever seen. No wonder he dated the hottest girl in Mystic High back in the day. Although I did date his brother, I never really got to know Damon well because when we were freshmen in high school he was already in college. All I knew about him was his reputation as a play boy. But, to be fair, it has been 7 years and maybe he has changed.

"You look gorgeous, by the way, white usually makes girls look less flattering but you look stunning in this little outfit. It's a little too short in my opinion, short enough to make me think impure thoughts." Yup, he blew it for himself, I guess that arrogant bad boy reputation is still alive and going strong.

"Umm… I usually don't dress like this, but Caroline insisted I wore something that was cute and chic."

"Tell Caroline I said thank you." He said with a smirk. I was starting to feel uncomfortable around Damon.

"Some things never change, and your attitude is one of them."

"I would like to think that I grew much more attractive in the last 7 years since you have seen me."

"I mean, you're not too bad yourself."

Damon came a bit closer towards me, "So what brings you back to Mystic Falls? Did you miss my little brother that much?"

"No, haven't you heard, I thought at this point it was common knowledge amongst everyone in Mystic Falls. And for the record, Stefan and I were done 7 years ago, we are nothing but friends and plus my best friend is dating him now, he's clearly moved on and so have I."

"No I haven't heard, please enlighten me Gilbert."

"My mother's cancer came back and so I decided it would be best for me to come back home and take care of her. That's the reason why I came home, not for Stefan."

I guess what had just came out of my mouth had stunned Damon and had left him speechless. "I'm so sorry Elena, I genuinely had no idea. Is there anything I can do to help you or your family?"

"No, don't worry, my father has got everything in control and Jenna just visited my mom two days ago and said she looks like she is getting a bit better. We are taking things a day at a time and we'll see how it goes from there. But thanks though, I really appreciate it."

"Of course, your mother was my favorite teacher at pre- school and honestly I owe her a lot for having to put up with me back then." We both shared a giggle as I could only imagine what 3 year old Damon was like.

"So what do you do now Damon?"

"Well, I work for my father."

"And how is that going?" This is the longest time I have ever spoken to Damon for, and to my surprise it's actually going better than I thought it ever would.

"It's hard, my father isn't exactly the easiest person to work for. But I love what I do, I get to travel across the globe, meet different people and it pays well so I'm not complaining."

"Where do you usually travel to?"

"I go to New York a lot because I am in charge of our New York office and then I occasionally fly over to the west coast, once every 6 months I go to Europe and Dubai. It's great."

"Wow, you do have a pretty cool life."

"What do you do Miss Gilbert?"

"I write for a blog, I don't know if you have heard of it, its a feminist blog run by two twin sisters in New York. Back when I was in Durham, I was also a yoga instructor, so I did that part time. Wait I think I hear Caroline calling me I have got to go see if everything is okay, it was really nice to talk to you Damon."

"I'm glad that you're back Gilbert, wait before you leave, can I have your number we could maybe grab a drink some time."

"Yea sure, its 9194230909. I'll see you soon."

"See you."


	2. Drinks for Two

It has been 3 days since my welcome home party and a lot has happened in the last three days. The day after the party, Jenna and I drove all the way to Baltimore's John Hopkins University Hospital to visit my mother. It was the first time I've seen my mother since her second diagnosis. The first time my mother was diagnosed with cancer I was a freshman in high school. My mother had three months of chemotherapy treatment and was told by the doctors at Mystic Falls Hospital that she was all cleared and the likelihood of her cancer coming back was close to none. We were all happy and confident that my mother had just conquered cancer, my mother even continued teaching at the local pre-school as if nothing had happened. Those three months of chemotherapy that my mother went through was not only painful for my mother but also unbearable for my dad, Jeremy and I. My mother lost all her hair, lost 30 pounds of weight and the color of her skin began to lose its pigment. Yesterday, my mother had to receive a dosage of morphine as the painkillers were the only thing that could make her feel less pain. My mother's condition has been very inconsistent for the past two days. When we went into her room, my mother was taking a nap. The nurse had told us that she had been saying how excited she was to have me back home and that she plans on spending more time with Jenna and I outside of the hospital before Jenna's wedding. Now, the future doesn't look so bright anymore, I had spoken to the doctor and he said that the most my mother can do is to attend Jenna's wedding reception but that's it.

"Mum, it's me, it's Elena." My mother's eyes begin to flicker and I knew she saw me when she gave me the brightest smile, "Hello my dear, how are you?"

"I'm good, I brought you some tea and fruits."

"Thank you so much sweetheart, I will have the tea but I think I'm not ready for fruits yet. We can save it for next time." Of course, how could I have forgotten. My mother basically cannot eat anything with a slightly heavy sugar content because rumor has it that sugar feeds cancer cells.

"I'm so sorry mom, I totally forgot. What would you like to eat, I will bring some tomorrow."

"Don't worry about it Elena, I'm fine with just tea. How's Mystic Falls treating you?"

"Good, Caroline and Bonnie threw me a welcome home party yesterday and literally the entire town came to our apartment. It was nice seeing everyone."

"That's nice of them. Did you see Matt and all of your friends high school, Stefan?"

"Yea, everyone was there last night, Caroline actually wanted to set me up with this guy called Jake, he is a personal trainer at the local fitness studio, but I found him to be quite rude and even a bit condescending. And I saw Damon Salvatore last night and we actually spoke for quite a while. At first I thought he hadn't changed much since high school but then as our conversation continued, he is actually not that bad of a person everyone puts him out to be."

"Damon Salvatore? Honey, you can do so much better than him."

"No no no, I'm not saying that I like him, I just think people should get to know him before the make misconceptions of him. We are just friends mum, nothing more."

"Are you sure about that? Because I noticed your face glowed up when you mentioned his name. I mean he is attractive and all, but you deserve a man who loves you and someone who you can see yourself spending the rest of your life with, someone who you can start a family with, someone like your father."

"Well, that's hard to find, Dad's almost perfect."

"I know, I did well in that regard. My dear, you have been here long enough, I will ask Nurse Jill to call you if I need anything. I think you should go and have fun and catch up with your old friends."

"Are you sure you want me to leave, I can stay for a while if you want me to keep you company."

"I'm sure, go along, have fun, I don't want you to be trapped in here with me."

I left Maryland at about 2 o'clock and decided to head back to Mystic Falls to start my next deadline and work at the local cafe. I was assigned to write a very interesting topic on gender inequality in wage gap, focusing on the case of the US National Women's Soccer Team, my co- worker Amanda even got to interview Hope Solo and together we would be co-writing this piece. The only time I can work is when I am in places like Starbucks with music and the noise of the coffee machine is somehow quite inspiring for me. I was in the midst of my first paragraph when I overheard this man speaking quite loudly to the barista, telling her he wanted 2% instead of skim milk. I plugged my earphones out to hear what fuss was the man making to only realize it was, of course Damon Salvatore. I immediately put my earphones back in my ears, and pretended to be really focused on the work on my screen, but I clearly wasn't that incognito.

"Well, well, well look who it is."

"Hi Damon, what are you doing in this cafe, I didn't know you drank anything besides bourbon."

"Coffee during the day and bourbon at night. What are you doing here on a fine Tuesday afternoon?"

"I have a deadline due tomorrow morning at 8 so I'm working and you are bothering me from my work Damon."

"Fine, but before I leave, would you like to go grab a drink with me tomorrow night at Mystic Grill at 9."

"Sure, why not."

"Perfect, see you tomorrow at 9."

"Bye Damon."

I decided to go for a run the next morning. I used to do this every Sunday with my father and we would come home just in time for my mother's famous pancakes. This would be my first time alone on the trail, but I have done many running excursions alone while I was at Duke, so I should be fine. 3,2,1 and off I went. For me, running gives me solitude, the endorphins rush gives me purpose and life for the endeavors to come. It took me 45 minutes to run 6 miles, not too shabby I'd say since I haven't ran since I came back to Mystic Falls. I still had around 2 hours to get ready for lunch with Bonnie and Jeremy.

We met at Mystic Grill for lunch. I was there waiting for the two lovebirds for thirty minutes, because apparently they lost track of time. "So sorry, we are late, Jeremy was waiting for me to get ready and then I left something at the apartment so we had to drive back to get it, but anyways now we are here."

"It's fine don't worry. Hi Jeremy, how are you, how was your last semester of junior year?"

"It was good, I'm on track to writing my senior honor thesis. I also got an internship at Charlottesville in digital arts so that should be exciting."

"I'm so happy for you Jer."

"Elena, so how is it going, any plans for the week?"

"I don't have a solid plan but I'm getting drinks with Damon tonight." Immediately Bonnie's eyebrows raised up, I knew she would be skeptical about this whole Damon and me being friends.

"Elena." She said sternly, "You know what you are getting yourself into right, this is Damon Salvatore we are talking about, the greatest playboy of Mystic Falls and even the whole of Virginia."

"I know who I am dealing with and Damon and I are just friends, and just friends only, nothing more than that. I don't like him the way you think I do. I just like his company, I mean he is nice to me. He invited me to, what was I supposed to say, no I'm sorry I can't be seen with you?"

"I'm just warning you. Even if you don't like him the way you say you do, I can bet 100% that he is in it for the wrong reasons with you. You are hot and single, so for him it's a why not try out this one type of situation."

"I mean drinks on a Wednesday night won't hurt."

"Do as you please Elena, if he does hurt you I will beat the crap out of him and he will wish that he was never alive."

"Aggressive Bon, I never knew you had this side to you."

"Oh trust me babe, I can be a bitch when I have to be."

Well that was a great lunch with Bonnie and Jeremy, with Bonnie telling me not to be friends with Damon the entire time. For some reason, I like hanging out with Damon. Yes, he can be an ass with his big ego, but whenever he is with me, he is always genuinely nice. I don't know I just get good vibes from him.

"Where are you going Elena?" Caroline stopped me as I was walking towards the door.

"The Grill, I am already running late. I am supposed to meet Damon at 9 for drinks."

"Damon?"

"Yes, Damon. I gotta go now, see you later!" At least the Grill was walking distance from my apartment. Crap, Damon texted me "Where are you?", I quickly responded "I'm walking over, will be there in 5." "K, see you ;)"

"Damon! I'm so sorry I'm late." I said as I gave him a hug.

"Hey, don't worry, you're here now. What drink would you like?"

"I'll start with a Long Island Ice Tea please."

"Ok." "Hi, excuse me Max, could I please get a Long Island Ice Tea and gin and tonic to start."

"Thank you. So how was the last 24 hours since I have last seen you?"

"Well, it was boring. I went to work from 9-6 and finished all reading all the contracts from our new hotel in New York. How has your day been?"

"Good, I saw Jeremy today. I was third wheeling with Bonnie and Jeremy at lunch today. It was great." I could tell that he could sense my sarcasm.

"Why? Were they being mean to you?"

"No, it's just that I told them I was going to meet with you tonight for drinks as friends only, and they were very skeptical about it. It's nothing."

"Oh, don't worry about it, they will get over it." He said, while rubbing the back of my shoulders for comfort. As I felt the touch of his gentle hand on my back, I began to felt butterflies in my stomach, I could feel myself blushing."

"I like hanging out with you. We should do this more often."

"I mean, I sort of like hanging out with you I guess."

"What do you mean by I guess?" Damon said teasingly.

"Stop it. Can we get a round of shots?"

"Are you sure you can handle it?"

"Are you doubting my tolerance Salvatore?"

"Fine," "Max, can you give us 10 shots of tequila." "5 each Gilbert."

"Piece of cake. Bring it Salvatore." Our shots came and I told Damon to go ahead and start first. In 5 seconds, I gulped down all 5 of my shots. I could tell that Damon was impressed by my tolerance.

"Noah Gilbert, I did underestimate your tolerance."

"I bet I have a higher tolerance than you."

"Want other round?"

"Why not." After another 5 shots I was starting to get a bit tipsy. "Ok, you fine, you have a higher tolerance than me. Wanna play a round of pool with me?"

"Sure." I held his hand and pulled him across the crowd to the billiards table. "Stripes or solids."

"You pick."

"I will have stripes then."

"Let's make a deal. If I win, I get a date with you."

"What about me? I know, if I win, I get to find in your Tesla. I've always wanted to try driving one of those."

"Deal." I knew I would have the upper hand against him. I grew up playing pool with my dad, so this has become second nature for me.

"Looks like you've lost to me. So can I drive your Tesla."

"Not tonight sugar."

"Please. Pretty please."

"No, I am not letting you drive the car when you are clearly tipsy. Tomorrow I will let you take my Tesla for a drive."

"You are such a Debbie Downer. I think I should better leave now, Caroline and Bonnie will be worried if I went home any later."

"I'll walk you home then."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes of course, I'd do anything for you."


End file.
